Suzanne Marshall fuses media and meaning!

High Noon

Tsunami

Suzanne Marshall has been with New Grounds since it opened in 1996 – she has had so many solo shows we lost track. And yet, show after show her works gets more exciting and more sophisticated. Her new body of work features etchings and gravures that are torn, collaged, scorched and waxed to create visually seductive surfaces. Several images are presented in hand made steel frames by the late Barbara Pfaff which makes the work even more exciting.



Her images deal with volcanoes, tsunamis, and the Yangtze River Dam project and the general human proclivity to exploit the natural world with potential consequence of a ravaged environment. However, her point of view is that of an observer rather than of someone who points her finger at others. While Marshall’s work is thoughtful and slightly cynical it also infused with quirky elegance and uncommon beauty.






As always, we had a great attendance for the reception, and a full house for the demonstration. Suzanne, like most artists, does not like this part of the evening and we appreciate that she did such a great job showing us how she combines gravure and chine collé.




Suzanne used the gravure medium mainly as a substitute for lithography since she can draw with a pencil to create rich tonal drawings. Here she shows how she creates her images: She uses a Stabillo pencil to draw on prepared mylar. Not shown in this demo is the actual plate making: The drawing on mylar is transferred to a light sensitive polymer plate with the help of an exposing unit – basically a powerful vacuum combined with a bright UV light. The plates, once exposed and developed are then printed like etchings.


Chine collé is a technique in which a piece of Japanese paper is fused to the sheet of heavy European paper while printing the plate. Here Suzanne brushes rice paste to a piece of Japanese paper; the rice past acts as a glue. The Japanese paper will be rewetted when it comes in touch with the damp European paper. The combination of water, glue and pressure from the printing press will make it adhere to the support sheet.




Suzanne now cards ink on the polymer plates and removes the excess with a tarlatan. The objective is to leave ink in just the recessed areas of the plate which are the image areas.



In order to print the inked plate it is placed on the press bed, the collé paper is placed over it, glue side up, and finally the European paper goes on top of both the plate and collé paper. Here Suzanne wets the European paper with a spray bottle.



The press blankets are placed over the plate/paper package and Suzanne rolls everything trough the press; the pressure of the rollers will force the ink in the recessed areas to be transferred to the damp paper.



The finished print! As always, our featured artist makes this look so easy. If you wish to learn more about this process, our next gravure class is scheduled for February of next year. In the meanwhile, check out Suzanne Marshall’s show – it makes such good use of the gravure medium. The show runs until November 28.

Thank all of you who made it to the reception, and for all the New Grounds and Matrix artists who volunteered their time to make this event even better. A special thanks to Mike Ruhdal who took the photographs. See you again December 11 for our Holiday Sale!

Fusion – Mixed Media Prints by Suzanne Marshall

Crepuscular
7.5 x 7.5"
Gravure, Collage, Mixed Media, and Encaustic


Marshall’s bold, semi-abstract etchings and gravures are torn, collaged, scorched and waxed to create visually seductive surfaces. Her images deal with the human proclivity to exploit the natural world with potential consequence of a ravaged environment. However, her point of view is that of an observer rather than of someone who points her finger at others. While Marshall’s work is thoughtful and slightly cynical it also infused with quirky elegance and uncommon beauty.

Exhibition dates: November 6 – 28
(Early Bird Preview: November 3 – 6)

First Friday Artscrawl Reception: November 6, 5 – 8:00 PM

Demonstration during the reception: How to create a gravure from a drawing, by Suzanne Marshall from 6:30- 7:00 PM.

Gallery hours: Wednesday through Sunday 9 AM - 6 PM; Tuesday 10 AM – 4 PM; closed Monday.

Contact person: Regina Held, 268-8952.

Cost of event: free

Vicki Bolen’s best show yet!

If you enjoy art with lots of textures, layers, rich colors and the occasional crane, you will love Vicki Bolen’s work.


We had a great turn-out for Vicki’s First Friday Artscrawl reception. The crowd spilled into the various studios of the workshop and almost everybody stayed to watch Vicki’s Collagraph demonstration.


Director Regina Held had the pleasure to introduce Vicki just before her demo. This is Vicki’s third solo show, and she makes her living selling artwork during artfairs around the country. She is a complete pro, just see how calm and collected she is. And look at all those beautiful Collagraph plates in front of her.


Whatever Vicki just said, it totally cracked up gallery assistant Tanya! Tanya will give Vicki a hand with printing.


A Collagraph is an intaglio technique in which objects (cardboard, fibers, fabrics, organic materials etc) are added to the surface of the plate, usually heavy cardboard, until a low relief is achieved. Front, back and sides of the plate are then sealed with several coats of acrylic mat medium. Once the plate is dry it can be inked, wiped and printed in the same manner as a etched metal plate. Collagraphs can also be printed as relief images which Vicki will demonstrate as well.

Vicki begins by covering the entire plate with ink using a brayer.


She then uses a heavily starched cheesecloth, or tarlatan, to wipe away the excess ink until only the lower areas of the plate retain ink.


Here is the inked plate.

It is placed upside down on top of the paper which already has some color from a previously applied monotype.


The plate and paper are now run through the printing press with the help of some very young helpers – we always say that even a kid can make prints!


The result! Vicki usually applies a lot more layers to her pieces – this would just be an intermediate state of the image for her.


Vicki now shows us a different plate which she will ink up relief style, not shown here. Unlike the previous plate, she simply brayers ink over the raised surface and leaves it just the way it is inked.


The resulting image looks very different from the intaglio wiped plate. The image will be bolder and have more contrast, while the first image displayed a lot more intermediate values.


Just before closing, James and Craig, long-time friends of Vicki and clients of New Grounds came to visit. It is so good to see you again!


Thank you Anise for keeping our visitors happy!


Bruce Childs took these awesome pictures – here he is in front of his work. He is getting ready for a solo show in 2010!

Thank you everybody for coming. This is a great show, don’t miss it. It runs until October 30.

Four of New Grounds artists are participating in the Urban Forest Project

The Urban Forest Project is a collaboration of artists who have designed tree-like images to be displayed as banners downtown. Dan Noyes, Tanya, Denise Weaver-Ross, and Bruce Childs have been accepted into this project. The banners will be on display for three months downtown. Once the banners come down they will be recycled and made into tote bags. The profits will go to Tree New Mexico. For more information and to view the banners online visit:

http://www.ufp-abq.com/

View Phase One UFP ABQ in a larger map

Print Collector's Club! Join today! :)

Art You Can Afford!!!

Become a member of the New Grounds Print Collector’s Club and receive four original, limited edition prints - valued at $ 200 or more each - for only $ 400. NM sales tax and shipping, if applicable, is not included in this amount.

The first image will be published in November (and rumors have it that it is an etching by Ray Maseman). The other prints will be available in three month intervals. Each piece will be created specifically for the Print Collector’s Club.

Sign up before November 1 and join the Print Collector’s Club for only $ 380!


The tradition of the Collector’s Club
Most printshops around the world offer this kind of service which is cherished by art collectors. Part of the appeal is the surprise – the collector does not know whose work they will be receiving. They trust that the workshop will make the absolute best selections for them.


The artwork
New Grounds Gallery has an incredible talented and widely exhibited stable of artists from which to choose from. In addition, some of the published artists will be selected from New Grounds’ sister gallery, Matrix Fine Art. The selected artist will create a work of art in the same style and subject matter that we have come to expect from them. The images sizes will vary, but the minimum image size will be 12 x 9.” Some images will be printed in black and white, some in color.

Life Among the Margins - Woven Monotypes by Vicki Bolen

Life Among the Margins

8 x 8"

Handstitched Monotype and Collagraph

Vicki Bolen’s colorful abstract monotypes go far beyond the traditional look of this 19th century printmaking medium. By incorporating applications such as weaving, stitching, quilting and, most recently, origami, she infuses her painterly work with dimensionality, movement and texture.

Exhibition dates: October 2 – 31
(Early Bird Preview: September 29 – October 2)

First Friday Artscrawl Reception: October 2, 5 – 8:00 PM

Demonstration during the reception: Collagraphs by Vicki Bolen from 6:30- 7:00 PM.

Upcoming Gravure Workshop

This four day workshop provides an exciting opportunity to create beautiful limited edition prints using two distinctly different methods. The first results in rich and detailed photographic images, the second is a great alternative to lithography for artists who love to draw!
Class date: Saturday and Sundays Oct. 3, 4, 10, and 11
Class time: 9 AM - 5 PM, includes lunch break
Class fee: $ 275 + tax, includes two small plates, and all printing materials. Additional plates are available.
Instructor: Diane Alire, MFA

Registration: Payment must be made at time of registration. No refunds will be given if a cancellation occurs less than 96 hours before class. To register, call 268-8952. Maximum enrollment: 8 students per class. All major credit cards accepted.


Diane Alire
Waiting for Godot
10 x 14.5"
Two Plate Gravure

Upcoming Fall Classes!

Introduction to Monotype
This liberating medium combines painting and printmaking techniques. In this four day class, students will be introduced to a variety of techniques from basic to experimental, and work with high-quality water-based Akua-Kolor monotype inks.
Class dates: Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 12, 13, 19, and 20
Class time: 9 AM - 5 PM, includes lunch break
Class fee: $ 275.00 + tax, includes all printing materials.
Paper needs to be purchased separately.
Instructor: Mary Sundstrom, MFA

Non-toxic Photogravure/Solarplate-Etching
This four day workshop provides an exciting opportunity to create beautiful limited edition prints using two distinctly different methods. The first results in rich and detailed photographic images, the second is a great alternative to lithography for artists who love to draw!
Class date: Saturday and Sundays Oct. 3, 4, 10, and 11
Class time: 9 AM - 5 PM, includes lunch break
Class fee: $ 275 + tax, includes two small plates, and all printing materials. Additional plates are available.
Instructor: Diane Alire, MFA

Relief Printing
In relief printing, the image is printed from a raised surface which was produced by cutting away non-image areas. This four day class covers several techniques from basic ones to multi-plate and reduction printing.

Class dates: Saturdays and Sundays, October 17, 18, 24, and 25
Class time: 9 AM - 5 PM, includes lunch break
Class fee: $ 275 + tax, includes most printing materials
Instructor: Tanya Landin, Gallery and Workshop Assistant


Non-toxic Etching
In this four day class, students become acquainted with the beautiful art of etching used by Rembrandt and Goya. This class covers many different techniques, such as line etching, aquatint, softground, spitbite, and chine collé.

Class dates: Sundays only, Nov. 8, 15, 22, and 29
Class times: 9 AM - 5 PM, includes lunch break
Class fee: $ 275 + tax, includes one 6 x 4.5" copper plate,
1 sheet of paper, 2 etching tools, and printing materials.
Instructor: Ray Maseman, BFA



Monotype Madness
3 Presses!
2 Hours!
Dozens of bottles of ink!
Mounds of brushes, brayers, stamps, stencils, paper, widgets and wing dings!
Infinite Possibilities!!

Date: Saturday, November 14th.
Time Slots:
10:00-noon, 1:00-3:00 or 3:30-5:30
Fee: $ 40.00 + tax per session,
includes some paper

Our trained printers stand ready to assist as you become a prolific producer of prints during this special event. You will use a printing press to transfer painted, stamped, stenciled or drawn designs from plate to paper and create as many unique images as possible. Open to all!

Adabel Allen’s show not just for the birds!

A huge crowd turned out to support Allen for the opening of her show. Art collectors and bird lovers can’t resist her work, and as one of the rare native Albuquerqueans that we encounter ever so often in this town, ALL of her old friends came to visit her as well!


This is a spectacular show; Allen presents many different layers of meaning in her pieces which she supports with innovative combinations of print media. She was introduced to gravure earlier this year and immediately began to push its boundaries. For her demonstration, she showed how she combined gravure with relief printing – a highly unusual combination indeed!

“Taking Care of Business”

This image consists of two plates with the gravure plate functioning as the “key plate.” It was created from one of Adabel’s photographs and contains the actual bird imagery seen in the finished print. Check out our July blog for a detailed description of the gravure process. This plate is inked up in black and set aside for printing.



For this particular image, Adabel used the relief print to print the blue and white background which supports the gravure plate. A relief print is created by cutting away non-image areas out of either wood, or linoleum, and rolling ink on the remaining raised, or image, areas. For Adabel to know which areas to cut away she had to employ a trick: She ran a freshly pulled impression of the gravure plate over the linoleum block using an etching press. The still wet ink transferred to the linoleum block and thus provided her with an accurate guide for creating the color plate. Note that we do not have pictures of this part of the process.

Adabel now inks up the linoleum block. Notice that the bottom part of the image is much darker than the upper areas.



She created this effect by brayering two colors of ink on the block. Here she inks the darker part using a very small brayer.


She finishes inking the plate by brayering a layer of blue over the entire plate. The colors will blend a little in the brayering process. Here is the finished plate on the press bed.




The relief plate is run through the press first, then the gravure is run through the press immediately afterwards (note that there are no photos of the printing process; check out some of our previous blogs to see how this is done!).

This reception would not have been as successful had it not been for the help of our numerous volunteers such as Carol Walker and Pamela DiMauro.

Last but not least, a big thank you to Cornelius, Regina’s husband, who always takes care of the food and beverages served during the reception in addition to providing moral support!

Convergence - Mixed Media prints by Adabel Allen

Bosque at Eventide
24 x 18"
Monotype, Etching, and Gravure


Adabel Allen’s colorful mixed media prints are inspired by the fact that disparate disciplines such as science and religion often come to similar conclusions. While she physically layers intaglio and relief plates to echo the layers of meaning embedded in her work she uses bird imagery as a unifying element. A metaphor for the multiple perspectives we can use to observe the world, the birds in Allen’s work also add a sense of humor to her otherwise rather thoughtful pieces.


Exhibition dates: August 7 – 29
(Early Bird Preview: August 4 - 7)

First Friday Artscrawl Reception: August 7, 5 – 8:00 PM

Demonstration during the reception: Adabel Allen will show how to layer relief and intaglio prints from 6:30- 7:00 PM.

Gallery hours: Wednesday through Sunday 9 AM - 6 PM; Tuesday 10 AM – 4 PM; closed Monday.

Contact person: Regina Held, 268-8952.

Cost of event: free

Location: 3812 Central Ave. SE.- 2.5 blocks east of Carlisle between Solano and Aliso, next to Matrix Fine Art.

Sign-up at http://www.artscrawlabq.org/ to receive the free bi-monthly newsletter covering art events in Albuquerque. This newsletter is published by the Albuquerque Art Business Organization - the Artscrawl people. Stay updated with current events and shows!

Gravure- the new Medium! Reception and Demonstration Re-cap

Gravure is a 19th century technique which proceeds photography. For the last ten years, this technique has experienced a revival by printmakers thanks to the ready availability of non-toxic light sensitive emulsions and plates. At New Grounds, we use KM plates for pad printing which are available from New Grounds, or from Takach Press, http://www.takachpress.com/.
Photographers use gravure to achieve the rich tonalities and detail found in the works of Stieglitz, while artists who like to draw use it as a substitute for lithography. During the July 3 reception, New Grounds artist Jessica Weybright demonstrated how to create a colorful gravure by combining positive and negative plates of the same image.

To make the gravure plates from photographs the artist prints a black and white transparency of the image on a good photo printer. This transparency, or photo positive, simulates the large scale negatives of early photography.

The plates that we use are coated with a positive light sensitive emulsion which means that the image has to be positive in order to create a print that looks like the original. By comparison, in traditional photography photographic paper is coated with a negative emulsion which means that it has to be exposed to a negative image in order to create a positive version. It sounds a lot more confusing than it is! Really! Well, just to stretch your brain a little further, Jessica also created a negative, or inverted image in photoshop which she uses to make the second plate. The negative image deposits inks in the areas that are left white in the positive plate. The processes of making the plates are not shown here. However, watch as Jessica prints her two plates on the same piece of paper to achieve a very colorful and abstract image.

Jessica begins by brayering red ink on the positive plate. She then uses a tarlatan (a heavily sized cheese cloth) to remove the excess ink from the plate. The plate is now ready to print. She repeats these steps with the negative plate which she inkes up in green.

The negative plate is printed first.

Here is the first state of the image. Great color!

Now Jessica takes the positive plate and places it on top of the print she just pulled. The plates we use are thin steel plates coated with polymer emulsion. They can be printed upside down which can be messy, but eliminates the need for a complicated registration sheet. The second plate is simply placed upside down into the image area of the first impression.


Here she goes running the plate through the press one more time! She removes the plate and voila – the finished print!



The final image.


The aftermath of printing in half an hour…

The reception for the gravure show went well; we had many artists and visitors. Adabel Allen had three pieces in the show and she manned the door for a large portion of the night (thanks!).

Tanya, Gallery and Workshop Assistant, and Jessica Weybright, Artist, were enjoying themselves throughout the night.



Jeff Simpson, Artist (and our photographer for the evening), is shown here standing by his infamous “The Spokestoaster is in Rehab” gravure print.



Tyler is the owner of one of these lovely little toasters!



Jacqui Lewnes, Artist, and former member Carrie Kaser who is now apprenticing at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography came to see the show and the demonstration!



Jacqui, Tyler, and Susan Reid, Matrix Artist, are having a blast!



Thank you to everyone who came to the opening! Let’s give a round of applause to our photographer, Jeff Simpson.